OpenClaw agent runtime workflow — openclaw

Developer workflow for the agent runtime (src/agents/) in the OpenClaw repo.

Type checking and linting

Default local gate: pnpm check (typecheck, lint, policy guards)
Build gate: pnpm build when the change can affect build output, packaging, or lazy-loading/module boundaries
Full pre-push gate: pnpm build && pnpm check && pnpm check:test-types && pnpm test

Run the agent runtime unit suites:

pnpm test \
  "src/agents/agent-*.test.ts" \
  "src/agents/embedded-agent-*.test.ts" \
  "src/agents/agent-hooks/**/*.test.ts"

The first glob also covers the agent-tools*, agent-settings, and agent-tool-definition-adapter* suites.

Live tests are excluded from the unit config; run them through the live wrapper (sets OPENCLAW_LIVE_TEST=1 and needs provider credentials):

pnpm test:live src/agents/embedded-agent-runner-extraparams.live.test.ts

Run the Gateway in dev mode (skips channel connections via OPENCLAW_SKIP_CHANNELS=1): pnpm gateway:dev
Trigger one agent turn through the Gateway: pnpm openclaw agent --message "Hello" --thinking low
Use the TUI for interactive debugging: pnpm tui

For tool call behavior, prompt for a read or exec action so you can watch tool streaming and payload handling.

State lives in the OpenClaw state directory: ~/.openclaw by default, or $OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR when set. Paths relative to that directory:

Path	Holds
`openclaw.json`	Config
`state/openclaw.sqlite`	Shared runtime state database
`agents/<agentId>/agent/openclaw-agent.sqlite`	Per-agent model auth profiles (API keys + OAuth) and runtime state
`credentials/`	Provider/channel credentials outside the auth profile store
`agents/<agentId>/sessions/`	Transcript history and legacy session migration sources
`sessions/`	Legacy single-agent session store (old installs only)
`workspace/`	Default agent workspace (extra agents use `workspace-<agentId>`)

Delete those paths for a full reset. Narrower resets:

Sessions only: do not delete agents/<agentId>/agent/openclaw-agent.sqlite; session rows live there alongside other per-agent state. Use /new or /reset to start a fresh session for one chat, and openclaw sessions cleanup for session maintenance.
Keep auth: leave agents/<agentId>/agent/openclaw-agent.sqlite and credentials/ in place.

Legacy auth-profiles.json files are no longer read at runtime; openclaw doctor --fix imports them into the SQLite store.

Source: docs/openclaw-agent-runtime.md